Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri announces surprise resignation

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri resigned in a televised address while in Saudi Arabia, saying his life is jeopardized, Al Arabiya news channel reported Saturday.

During the address, Hariri said he feared an assassination plot and accused Iran of meddling in the region.

"Iran controls the region and the decision-making in both Syria and Iraq," he said.

"We are living in a climate similar to the atmosphere that prevailed before the assassination of martyr Rafik al-Hariri," he said. " I have sensed what is being plotted covertly to target my life."

His father, former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, was assassinated in a car bombing in Beirut in 2005.